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Tire Recommendations 700x40-42mm

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Cyclocross and Gravelbiking (Recreational) This has to be the most physically intense sport ever invented. It's high speed bicycle racing on a short off road course or riding the off pavement rides on gravel like : "Unbound Gravel". We also have a dedicated Racing forum for the Cyclocross Hard Core Racers.

Tire Recommendations 700x40-42mm

Old 02-06-22, 07:40 PM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by Parkyy16
I actually found the Specialized Sawtooth tires because I was hoping that the Pathfinders would be on sale on Specialized's website. These Continental SpeedRides will be temporary(although, I guess all tires are temporary), so I'll definitely consider the Pathfinder Pros when it's time to replace these.
The Pathfinder and Sawtooth would both both be excellent choices. A lot of people seem to write them off because of the weight, or maybe the brand, but they roll fast, are durable, setup easy, and you will get a lot of miles out of the Pathfinders (not sure about the Sawtooth). If the $ is really a big difference, I can tell you from my experience the Pathfinder is actually a much cheaper tire at $55 than say, a GravelKing SK that usually runs around $38-40 actual price because the Pathfinders wear for at least 50% more miles, and are not as likely to be destroyed by irreparable punctures.
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Old 02-07-22, 12:19 PM
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Originally Posted by zen_
The Pathfinder and Sawtooth would both both be excellent choices. A lot of people seem to write them off because of the weight, or maybe the brand, but they roll fast, are durable, setup easy, and you will get a lot of miles out of the Pathfinders (not sure about the Sawtooth). If the $ is really a big difference, I can tell you from my experience the Pathfinder is actually a much cheaper tire at $55 than say, a GravelKing SK that usually runs around $38-40 actual price because the Pathfinders wear for at least 50% more miles, and are not as likely to be destroyed by irreparable punctures.
I can absolutely attest to the durability and how well the Pathfinders roll. They are just very confidence inspiring on both dirt and tarmac. These are also the tire that Ian Boswell used to win Unbound Gravel 200. They really should get more love when people ask for tire recs.
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Old 02-07-22, 06:25 PM
  #28  
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Got the tires in the mail last Friday, was able to go out on a short 20 mile ride.
Mounting:
Taking off the previous Teravail Washburns took longer than putting the new Continental SpeedRides. I'm sure it's not tubeless compatible, but that's perfect for me.

Setup:
Mounted them on my Astral Wanderlust Carbon with internal width of 23mm, hooked, tubeless ready rims. The 42mm spec'd tires came out to 39.5mm. I'm about 160lbs, the bike is about 20-25 lbs, I assume, not sure on the bike's weight. Initially setup the tires with 60psi in the rear, 55psi in the front. About 8-10 miles into the ride, dropped another 5psi from both front and rear.

Ride:
A bit buzzier than some other tires, but certainly not unbearable. Noticed that the tire is an excellent pebble collector. At some point in the ride, I noticed that the sound of the tires was different. Stopped to check, it was a few extra tiny pebbles between the tread causing some extra noise. Not a big deal for me, but I could see a sharp debris eventually working itself into the tire as the tire rotates and the pebble is pushed further and further into the tread. I've had it happen on other tight tread tires, and I could see it happening here as well.

The ride feel was initially a bit harsher, although I wasn't exactly expecting much. I had initially setup the tires at 60psi in the rear, and 55 psi in the front. At about 8 -10 miles into the ride, I hopped off and lowered the pressure down around 5psi for each tire, and the feel was quite a bit cushier.

Comfort:
I don't have the best tires to compare these tires to since I'm fairly new to gravel tires. However, over the years, I've tried many road tires: Conti Gatorskin, Hutchinson Fusion 5, GP5000, GP 4 Season, Vittoria Rubino Pro, Vittoria Zaffiro, etc. My favorite were Hutchinson Fusion 5 in 28mm, and the SpeedRides feel similar in terms of cushiness. Of course, I'm comparing a 42mm tires setup at ~50psi to 28mm tires at 80psi, but it's similar in their comfort. I'm sure a nicer 120tpi+ wide tire will be even more comfortable at similar pressures. I will be continuing to

Speed:
I don't ride fast enough to notice this at all. I'm sure my Hutchinson Fusion 5 at 28mm are faster, but I still average 15-18mph on most 20 mile rides, and I expect to do that with these SpeedRides as well.

Conclusion:
They're pretty good, I'm pretty happy for the price of these tires. Certainly will be trying some higher tpi tires for my next set, but will likely come back to these if the difficulty in mounting continues. Or I see some drastic improvements in non-latex tubeless sealant.
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Old 02-07-22, 06:36 PM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by Parkyy16
The ride feel was initially a bit harsher, although I wasn't exactly expecting much. I had initially setup the tires at 60psi in the rear, and 55 psi in the front. At about 8 -10 miles into the ride, I hopped off and lowered the pressure down around 5psi for each tire, and the feel was quite a bit cushier.
I'm about 180 lbs and I keep my 38mm wide tires around 40 psi in general. For all tarmac rides I might bump it up to 42psi. For all dirt I might go down to 35psi.

When I rode a tire over 40mm I kept similar pressures. At your weight I'd probably go max 40psi and probably keep them around 35.

Just noticed you are probably not running tubeless...if that is the case I'd bump my psi up from that.

Last edited by KJ43; 02-07-22 at 06:45 PM.
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Old 02-07-22, 07:16 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by KJ43
I'm about 180 lbs and I keep my 38mm wide tires around 40 psi in general. For all tarmac rides I might bump it up to 42psi. For all dirt I might go down to 35psi.

When I rode a tire over 40mm I kept similar pressures. At your weight I'd probably go max 40psi and probably keep them around 35.

Just noticed you are probably not running tubeless...if that is the case I'd bump my psi up from that.
I'm still newer to wider tires and I've just been experimenting slowly with lowering pressures with tubes. I had the 38mm Teravail Ramparts around 60psi and thought that was pretty good. Might have been a bit too much in hindsight. I'll give it a try with 5psi lower at 45psi in the front and 50 in the rear and see how it is.
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Old 02-08-22, 06:50 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by Parkyy16
I'm still newer to wider tires and I've just been experimenting slowly with lowering pressures with tubes. I had the 38mm Teravail Ramparts around 60psi and thought that was pretty good. Might have been a bit too much in hindsight. I'll give it a try with 5psi lower at 45psi in the front and 50 in the rear and see how it is.
Thanks for this thread, and providing real world measurements and ride opinions! I like the puncture protection that Conti offers. It's hard to figure out TPI sometimes because some manufacturers would call the 3 x 84tpi layers like 240tpi. Meh marketing.

Like you I've been adjusting to wide tubeless tires. What I've found is that for me (~190lbs, 25lb gear+bike) I no longer inflate past 50 psi with 38mm+ tires. It feels slower at first but it's a mental thing. When looking at past ride data, rides over twenty miles I'm faster. Shorter rides on average I'm the same speed unless you look at where I'm specifically putting in an effort.

Only time I really notice lower pressures is that I really like to pedal out of the saddle. You can notice squish then.

I also have a hunch that over 50psi I start to damage the tire. Bubbles more easily form between casing and tread. I'll get more punctures + they don't seal quickly. If I was at 60-70psi the puncture always hisses till the tire deflates to ~ 40psi and I don't really notice the loss of pressure vs before.
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Old 02-08-22, 06:57 AM
  #32  
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I ride with <!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->Schwalbe G1 Allround 40's and I know that they are a bit more on the pricey side, but I absolutely love them at 45 psi! I was very fortunate, however, to have these tires fall in my lap. I may have a different opinion if I had to pay full price for them. Check your local bike co-op if that is an option for you.
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Old 02-08-22, 07:25 AM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by Parkyy16
Mounted them on my Astral Wanderlust Carbon with internal width of 23mm, hooked, tubeless ready rims. The 42mm spec'd tires came out to 39.5mm.
Did you double-check that? Did you measure across the lugs? It strikes me as odd that a nominal 42mm would come in undersized on a 23mm IW rim, so I’m just wondering.
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Old 02-08-22, 08:28 AM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by GrainBrain
Thanks for this thread, and providing real world measurements and ride opinions! I like the puncture protection that Conti offers. It's hard to figure out TPI sometimes because some manufacturers would call the 3 x 84tpi layers like 240tpi. Meh marketing.

Like you I've been adjusting to wide tubeless tires. What I've found is that for me (~190lbs, 25lb gear+bike) I no longer inflate past 50 psi with 38mm+ tires. It feels slower at first but it's a mental thing. When looking at past ride data, rides over twenty miles I'm faster. Shorter rides on average I'm the same speed unless you look at where I'm specifically putting in an effort.

Only time I really notice lower pressures is that I really like to pedal out of the saddle. You can notice squish then.

I also have a hunch that over 50psi I start to damage the tire. Bubbles more easily form between casing and tread. I'll get more punctures + they don't seal quickly. If I was at 60-70psi the puncture always hisses till the tire deflates to ~ 40psi and I don't really notice the loss of pressure vs before.
No problem! Thought someone in the future might find this info useful. Probably not a sought after product since it's in the lower end of the gravel tire market, but fits my needs at this particular time.

I'm riding with tubes, so I'm erring on side of caution when it comes to pressure. I'll certainly keep trying lower and lower pressures with tubes since these are a breeze to change the tubes.


Originally Posted by zachfromkc
I ride with Schwalbe G1 Allround 40's and I know that they are a bit more on the pricey side, but I absolutely love them at 45 psi! I was very fortunate, however, to have these tires fall in my lap. I may have a different opinion if I had to pay full price for them. Check your local bike co-op if that is an option for you.
We unfortunately do not have a co-op in our area. We have three bike shops, one is a trek store, another is a bike shop that's been bought out and turned into a coffee shop, and the last one seems to have problems retaining staff. The closest Co-Op would be about 2 hours drive away, which without a car at the moment, is difficult.

I tried to avoid Schwalbe because of their tight tire reputation. Although, I'm sure that's mostly coming from the Schwalbe's Marathon w/ wirebead line of tires. I did consider the American Classic Aggregate, which are very similar(pretty much a blatant copy) of the G-One AllRounds. Might be a set you could consider when you need to replace your AllRound 40s.

Originally Posted by chaadster
Did you double-check that? Did you measure across the lugs? It strikes me as odd that a nominal 42mm would come in undersized on a 23mm IW rim, so I’m just wondering.
I measured twice both front and rear at the "widest point" of the tires in different locations. In this case, it was the top part of the sidewall. The side lugs are not very tall and they actually weren't as wide as the sidewalls. Could be a new tire thing and these might stretch out to 40-41mm in the coming weeks/months. I could re-measure when I get back home from work though.
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Old 02-08-22, 08:36 AM
  #35  
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Parkyy16 No biggie, I was just wondering.
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Old 02-08-22, 08:36 AM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by Parkyy16
We unfortunately do not have a co-op in our area. We have three bike shops, one is a trek store, another is a bike shop that's been bought out and turned into a coffee shop, and the last one seems to have problems retaining staff. The closest Co-Op would be about 2 hours drive away, which without a car at the moment, is difficult.

I tried to avoid Schwalbe because of their tight tire reputation. Although, I'm sure that's mostly coming from the Schwalbe's Marathon w/ wirebead line of tires. I did consider the American Classic Aggregate, which are very similar(pretty much a blatant copy) of the G-One AllRounds. Might be a set you could consider when you need to replace your AllRound 40s.
That's a bummer about the co-op situation! Thanks for the recommendation! The G-One AllRounds are folding, which make it pretty easy to get on the rims.
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Old 02-08-22, 08:42 AM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by chaadster
Parkyy16 No biggie, I was just wondering.
Completely off topic, but how do you like your Mercier Nano? I have the VO Neutrino and it's a blast. Debated buying the Nano multiple times over the years.
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Old 02-08-22, 09:24 AM
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Originally Posted by Parkyy16
Completely off topic, but how do you like your Mercier Nano? I have the VO Neutrino and it's a blast. Debated buying the Nano multiple times over the years.
It’s cool enough for a novelty bike. I’ve done 20 mile rides on it for party rides (e.g. Critical Mass), but I wouldn’t ride it seriously because it’s very uninspiring. Cheap tubing and dirt-ass components…it rides like a truck, pretty much, even though I changed a lot
of bits. It gets attention, though, and I look like a fat circus bear on it, so it does the trick before I spool up the 60x11 and sprint out!



Mercier Nano minivelo
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Old 02-08-22, 09:29 AM
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Originally Posted by chaadster
It’s cool enough for a novelty bike. I’ve done 20 mile rides on it for party rides (e.g. Critical Mass), but I wouldn’t ride it seriously because it’s very uninspiring. Cheap tubing and dirt-ass components…it rides like a truck, pretty much, even though I changed a lot
of bits. It gets attention, though, and I look like a fat circus bear on it, so it does the trick before I spool up the 60x11 and sprint out!
Ooh that fuzzy saddle is glorious. Thanks for the quick review.
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Old 02-10-22, 11:16 PM
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Conti Speed Rides were my go-to several years ago but the gravel tire selection has really evolved since. I'm loving the Conti Terras now. They're not the widest but they feel fast and sure-footed. Great for rough tarmac but I cringe when riding them on the road since I feel like it wears out the tread faster.
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